This Quiet Moment
by AnimeWolfGirl9
Summary: There was no bickering, no pain, and no war with the vampires. It was just the two of them, so maybe they could enjoy this quiet moment, set apart from what the world had become. (Yu X Mitsuba) (One-shot).


**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Seraph of the End and everything belongs to their respective owners.**

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This Quiet Moment

Mitsuba never would have expected that Yu enjoyed reading books, but that's what she had stumbled upon one peaceful afternoon. They were still on leave for the time being – there were rumors going around about vampire activity in another city, but their squad wouldn't be dealing with that right this moment – so she had been trying to make the most out of the situation. She had expected nearly everything that day, except for the sight of Yu's face shoved in a book.

The blonde stayed silent for a few moments, simply watching her dark-haired comrade. He was so absorbed with his reading that he hadn't noticed her yet, making her wonder if she should go somewhere else.

 _I shouldn't bother him, not when he's recovering._ The thought came as she took a step backwards, near silent as she intended to leave the room. The small motion must have been enough; Yu's green gaze focused on her previously fleeting form.

"Ah…" A small noise left his mouth as the book lowered to rest in his lap. "Sorry I didn't see you there, Mitsuba. Did you need something?"

The sight was so surreal to her that it caused a slight blush to taint her cheeks. "Nothing particularly urgent." She murmured, focusing on a spot just beyond his head; that way, it would seem as though she was able to look him in the eyes without blushing. The strange contrast of what her comrade had been and had now become left her confused.

 _Yes, that has to be it. I'm just flustered by his sudden change. That's all._

Her thoughts flew back to the differences she was now observing. Since waking up from his long rest, since finding out his family was alive, Yu had developed a rapid change. He now seemed less… stubborn and headstrong. The qualities were still there, but she saw the restraint in his now-caring actions that made the change so obvious.

Maybe that's why she had been so surprised: she could hardly imagine battle-ready Yu with his face in a book, with complete care in his eyes, with enough sense to actually take time to _think_ during a battle… well, that last one hadn't changed as much, not when it came to his family, but he had come a long way from the person he had been.

Her thoughts stopped when she realized that Yu's gaze – his emerald eyes that always spoke the depths of his emotions – were still focused on her. The blonde cleared her throat, thinking quickly as to what she could say. "I was just… looking for some documents. It's much easier to analyze them in silence." In lieu with her well-timed excuse, her feet directed her to the nearest shelf as her gaze flitted over the titles, trying to focus on anything aside from the other presence in the room.

"A-alright then…" She saw Yu nod out of the corner of her eye. His head angled back to what he was reading, but only for a moment. It then turned back to her, then the book, and back again. His mouth opened as he hesitantly spoke. "Uh… Mitsuba?"

"Yes?" Her answer rang with half of her attention; not because she wasn't _wanting_ to listen to him, but because she was forcing herself not to. _If I'm always focusing on him, I'll continue to mess up. I'll continue to be a burden for everyone. Even in the short time that we've been together, he's grown so strong. I can't weigh him down, not if he's going to achieve his goals. Not if I want him to survive._

"I know you came searching for some documents, but… you're looking in the how-to section."

"O-of course." The small stutter that came from her embarrassment leaked out, causing her to curse it. She hadn't visited this small library much; she hadn't thought there was much need to. Clearly, Yu's knowledge of the room exceeded hers, which proved just how often he came here.

 _How had I missed it? Was it just recently that he started to read so intently, or has he been here before?_ The girl's thoughts wandered, causing her to shake her head to clear it. She was thinking about him again, constantly, and in a way that she knew Shinoa would tease her for.

 _"You like him so much that you're starting to seem like a stalker, Mitsu-chan~!"_ She could practically hear her purple-haired comrade's voice already. She took a deep breath to get rid of the heat that was threatening to turn her cheeks red again as she scanned the next shelf.

Yu seemed to hesitate again on what to say; his gaze seemed half conflicted and amused. Finally his gloveless hand pointed to a section mere feet from where he was sitting. "The military documents are in this bookcase, if that's what you're looking for."

Mitsuba froze at her second error, only for a quick moment, before she was able to regain her composure. "A-ah, yes. Thank you." She felt unable to 'correct' him or find another excuse; the thoughts flew out of her mind as she closed the gap to the correct bookcase. Her thoughts betrayed her as she reached it.

 _O-of course it had to be so close to him! Why couldn't I have said I was searching for uniform repairs?_ The idea seemed much more relevant to the bookcase she had first stumbled upon; that way she could have kept a more comfortable distance between them and, if necessary, she could have fled the room. Her nerves seemed on edge today – maybe it had even been since the battle. Maybe her mind had been betraying her with the overlapping images of the teen that sat in front of her and the out-of-control Yu that she had seen the week before. The transformation that had overtaken him had destroyed the upper half of his uniform. Of course, he most likely had spares, but if they could salvage it in some way…

The idea of fixing the damage and then returning it to him caused her face to turn several shades of red darker. _Stop thinking about that! It's not like you would be doing it out of care… it would be more beneficial in the long run!_ Despite the denial that ran through her mind, the blonde knew that she was just trying to fool herself. She couldn't stop the turbulent emotions that continued to surface when she was near the dark-haired teen.

"Mitsuba?" His voice cut unexpectedly through her thoughts once more, causing her to stutter in surprise.

"W-what?" She was pretty sure her voice had raised a few octaves with her panic; their proximity really was quite close. The fact that she had no way of escape – the bookcase behind her prevented her from even taking a step back to relieve the air between them – didn't help her rising emotions.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright? You look like you're a bit warm…" His voice was once again laced with concern as he started to stand, most likely to make sure she wouldn't faint from said 'fever.' Inwardly, she began to beg him to not come closer; that would only complicate things.

Before he could fully stand, she interrupted him. "I-I'm fine! It's just…" Her words trailed off as she watched Yu lean back in his chair, his partially read book lying motionless in his lap. She couldn't find the words to explain, instead letting her unsaid emotions out in a sigh. Yu's head tilted at the act; he looked unsure of what to do or say.

 _I should leave; I'm just being an annoyance to him._ Despite the thought that tried to remedy the situation, she found her legs moving forward – not away – towards the chair next to Yu. The girl sat down with a 'plop,' aware that Yu's gaze followed her. Her sight traveled to the floor, staying there as she organized her senses. The air smelled of old books, with the one that Yu was holding being the most prominent smell. Despite it being the later hours of the afternoon, the room was still bright, lit with the slow descent of the sun below the mountains. Her fingers brushed against the fabric of her uniform against her normally-gloved hands. But more than any of those senses, she felt Yu's warmth beside her. It was comforting. When he had been in a coma, he had seemed so cold and lifeless.

"I'm just… glad that you're alright…" The words slipped from her mouth before she could even stop or register them, leaving her like a relieved sigh. When her mind did catch up with what she had said, she barely stopped the embarrassed gasp from leaving her. The result was another shade of deepening red.

Yu smiled gently from beside her, his expression amused as he registered her words. "Well… I could say the same." His countenance turned contemplative as his gaze traveled to the ceiling. "I was so happy to see Mika, so confused at the same time that I couldn't focus on what was happening. Then, when the vampires had everyone… I was so worried that I had made the wrong decision, but…"

Yu's words softened as they turned into his inner thoughts. She couldn't hear any more of his words, but she felt like she understood them nonetheless. Her lilac gaze settled on the book in his lap, finding it as a good, neutral subject. "What were you reading about, anyway?"

At her question, Yu seemed to snap out of whatever intense thoughts had held him captive. He turned to the cover of the book, keeping on hand in it to keep his place. "Oh… it's a book on vampires." She wasn't sure, but he seemed as though he was a bit embarrassed by the idea of being caught reading on their enemies. She was proved wrong, however, when he continued. "It's strange. So many years have passed, and I still haven't learned much more."

"What do you mean by that?" The blonde knew she was invading on his privacy – in fact, she knew she wouldn't have liked it if someone had done the same thing to her – but she couldn't help it. _I want to know more about you, to help shoulder the burden that you carry, if I can. Because I…_

"It's… well, when I was kept captive in the vampire city, I used to try and read whatever I could on the vampires. I thought that maybe, someday, the information would come of use." She felt as though he was leaving some significant details out, but she wouldn't push him.

Soon, their conversation continued back and forth as they shared stories and she helped him decipher some of the harder words that he couldn't read. _Just another thing I learned about him!_

Several hours later, unbeknownst to the two, a certain lilac-haired squad commander was walking by the room and found a perfect photo opportunity for blackmail.

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Well, after several months of on-and-off writing for this, I finally got it finished! Here's another YuMitsu fanfiction that I promised a while ago~! Sorry it took so long to get out! It has a bit of a different feel than the other two that I wrote, but I didn't necessarily want to end everything with a confession; I wanted to detail some of the time between those (I'm not saying that everything happens in a timeline, but that their relationship would progress naturally, right?). Either way, I hope you enjoyed this and please leave your thoughts in a review!

~AnimeWolfGirl9


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